hromadske editorial statement: Solidarity with colleagues facing pressure on press freedom
When investigators show up for searches at one news outlet within days of a court banning another from publishing its investigation, the questions pile up faster than the answers. We at hromadske know what it feels like when a newsroom comes under pressure over its investigative reporting. That is why we cannot stay silent when the same thing happens to our colleagues.
On July 7, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) conducted searches targeting Oleksii Babenko, co-founder of the news outlet Babel, and members of his family. Searches were also conducted at the offices of Vyriy Industries, a drone manufacturer owned by Babenko. According to investigators, the searches were connected to a case involving the possible artificial inflation of drone prices. However, Babel's editorial team believes the searches may instead be linked to its investigation into deaths and torture within the Skelia assault regiment. Journalists at the outlet point out that the searches followed a large-scale discrediting campaign against Babel and Babenko, with dozens of posts and videos on anonymous Telegram channels and Facebook pages claiming the investigation had been commissioned by Babenko himself as part of a fight against Ukraine's General Staff that plays into Russia's hands.
A day earlier, on July 6, Kyiv's Pecherskyi District Court barred the investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info from disclosing information about the property, transactions, and investments of Oleksandr Sukhachov, a businessman from Kharkiv and the brother of the director of the State Bureau of Investigation. The court's ruling came just as Slidstvo.Info, working with the Anti-Corruption Action Center, was preparing to publish an investigation into 143 real estate properties owned by Sukhachov.
Both organizations have described the actions against them as pressure on journalists and an assault on press freedom.
hromadske's editorial board believes that, especially during wartime, officials responsible for security, defense, and the protection of national interests must respect the law and show zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of power. Ukrainian journalists' right to work and conduct investigations in accordance with professional standards is guaranteed under the laws "On Media," "On Information" and "On Access to Public Information," among others. We consider pressure on media organizations unacceptable and call on the State Bureau of Investigation to engage in dialogue, and on the Office of the President and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech to respond to the situation.
hromadske's own journalists have faced similar pressure in the past. Andriy Portnov, a former deputy head of the presidential administration under fugitive former President Viktor Yanukovych, sued hromadske over its investigation How they took Crimea: Exclusive audios, published on December 27, 2023. In that report, journalists cited audio recordings from April and May 2014 to argue that Portnov had likely served as a coordinator of Russia's occupation of Crimea. The Kyiv Court of Appeals ordered hromadske to remove the investigation, a ruling the editorial team refused to accept. On May 20, 2026, Ukraine's Supreme Court ultimately sided with hromadske in the case brought by Portnov, overturning the rulings of both the lowest and appellate courts.
Our team remains convinced that, in wartime, freedom of speech is no less important than weapons.
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